A groundbreaking cancer immunotherapy, PRL3zumab, developed by researchers at the ASTAR Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) and biotechnology firm IntraImmuSG, has demonstrated promising results in a Phase II clinical trial. The trial, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, revealed that PRL3zumab safely slows disease progression in patients with advanced solid cancers that are unresponsive to existing treatments.
PRL3zumab is a humanised antibody therapy targeting the PRL3 protein, which is highly expressed in 80% of solid tumours but absent in healthy tissues. Unlike conventional therapies, PRL3zumab identifies cancer cells by targeting PRL3 when it appears on the cell surface, enabling the immune system to attack and destroy them. This innovative approach offers new hope for patients with aggressive, treatment-resistant cancers, including those who have exhausted standard immunotherapy options.
The trial enrolled 51 patients with various advanced-stage solid cancers, demonstrating a favourable safety profile with no serious drug-related side effects. One patient with Stage IV gastric cancer experienced disease stabilisation for over 13 months, compared to the typical two months with existing treatments. Encouraging tumour shrinkage has also been observed in ongoing trials in Malaysia and China.
Professor Qi Zeng, Senior Principal Scientist at ASTAR IMCB and Founder of IntraImmuSG, stated, “PRL3zumab represents a true bench-to-bedside success story. This research product has already benefited many late-stage cancer patients and offers new hope to those with rare aggressive cancers.”
The full results of the ongoing trials are expected to be published next year, potentially paving the way for new immunotherapy approaches for patients who do not respond to existing treatments.
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